Captain's Cupola H L Abrams

[Broffermoon]

Trying to mount windows in the Captain's Cupola H L Abrams. Ordered the windows set from East Coast Armory. Having trouble mounting them in the Captain's Cupola. Anyone had success and what did you do?
Thanks in advance.

[Rubicon99]

Trying to mount windows in the Captain's Cupola H L Abrams. Ordered the windows set from East Coast Armory. Having trouble mounting them in the Captain's Cupola. Anyone had success and what did you do?
Thanks in advance.

I order two sets of those and frankly just through them away. You would be better off just ordering a set of Abrams “glass” straight from the Tamiya parts website for their Abrams. Easy to fit and look 1000X better.

Here is the but part. You do have to remove the copula first and the “glass” needs to be inserted from the bottom. Not hard to remove the copula.

[Broffermoon]

Thank you Rubicon, How do you remove the copula? Thank you again for your expertise.

[Rubicon99]

Thank you Rubicon, How do you remove the copula? Thank you again for your expertise.

Carefully.....

Kidding aside it’s only CA clued on from the inside of the turret. It only hard the first time you remove one. You might have to pry it a little to get it off.

If you mess it up you can always get a replacement from aliexpress.com. But I think you will be fine.

[Broffermoon]

Thanks for your guidance. seems like a lot for realism, but gotta do what ya gotta do.

[oldwolf]

Does it have to be so clear and optically flat that you can clearly see through it? If not, I remember model railroad hobbyists used to have a liquid glass for adding awkwardly placed and shaped windows. It was a thick, white liquid that you dipped a toothpick in and picked up a drop. Then the toothpick with the drop was touched inside the window opening and gently wiped along the inside. It would form a white, translucent film covering the space, much like a soap film covering a ring for blowing bubbles. Over the next few hours the film would dry out and become clear. Unlike bubble making fluid it didnt "pop" as it dried. It looked ok, but since it is really a dried, double meniscus, the surface is slightly concave. You might want to see if the stuff is still around.

[Vaseline]

Micromark still carries it, Ill find you a link

[Vaseline]

https://www.aviationmegastore.com/mi...info&art=42946.

[Broffermoon]

https://www.aviationmegastore.com/mi...info&art=42946.

Dang Vaseline, tried the website, came up with "can not be found" I appreciate your effort,

[Vaseline]

Dang Vaseline, tried the website, came up with "can not be found" I appreciate your effort,

Sorry for the bad link, also Micro-mark made a liar out of me since they dont sell it any longer but it can be found elsewhere. The stuff is called Micro Kristal Klear made by Microscale Industries.

[Broffermoon]

Well, I ended up chopping, cutting and scratching the windows from East Coast Armory until I could press the windows through the front without removing the cupola. Note: The left from center window from the rear has a projection into the window area. East Coast has one window to fit into that location. You can't miss it. I fashioned a tool from a coat hanger to hold the window in place from the bottom, Used a window maker to mount and fill in the gaps around the window. Holding it in place with my tool, the window set up and then I filled in the gaps with the window maker. (Amazon has a couple of offerings for window makers) Finally when everything dried I coated the whole thing with dullcoat, The window maker is a gloss and the windows are dull, so that makes it consistent. Thank you Rubicon and Vaseline. You helped me plan my methodology, Also Used Micro Krystal Klear (the window maker) for the German Leopard as well. With a little finesse, I got Micro Krystal Klear to cover the windows in it. Got to follow up with Dull Coat as soon as it thoroughly dries. It is good stuff for making windows. With a little practice, you can make some cool glossy windows. I am considering cutting out the windows from the H L Sherman and make windows. The H L German Panther is close to getting windows as well. Thanks again for all your help. Glad Hobby Squawk was here

[canklebreaker]

I order two sets of those and frankly just through them away. You would be better off just ordering a set of Abrams “glass” straight from the Tamiya parts website for their Abrams. Easy to fit and look 1000X better.

Here is the but part. You do have to remove the copula first and the “glass” needs to be inserted from the bottom. Not hard to remove the copula.

Happen to know the part number? I tried searching their site but came up empty.

[Broffermoon]

Happen to know the part number? I tried searching their site but came up empty.

Canklebreaker: Went to East Coast Armory web site. He apparently has abandoned all 1/16 parts. He deals only in 1/6 parts. Clearly, all the parts offered are 3D printer products. That could account for some of the problems Rubacon encountered. Bottom line: the parts I used aren't available. Sorry, Have you tried some of the window maker products? The one in my article completely covered the windows in my German Leopard. Followup with a dull coat paint, looks pretty good. Might check it out. Best of luck.

[Broffermoon]

[Broffermoon]

My first attempt at photos. Here is the outcome of my efforts. Will post pictures of Leopard windows when they are done.

[Hellcat 7]

I order two sets of those and frankly just through them away. You would be better off just ordering a set of Abrams “glass” straight from the Tamiya parts website for their Abrams. Easy to fit and look 1000X better.

Here is the but part. You do have to remove the copula first and the “glass” needs to be inserted from the bottom. Not hard to remove the copula.

I went on the Tamiya site to look for the Abrams glass and for the life of me I can not find it. The list has no pic and only part number. Would you happen to know the part number?

[RichJohnson]

I used the micro ark liquid glass on my Abrams. The windows are a bit too big and awkward to work correctly. Frankly they look like crap lol. It worked great on my Sherman windows but don’t try it on the Abrams.

[Zippersnapper]

I'm in the process of dealing with Cupola glass myself. I have some acrylic at work, as well as a decent Laser etcher/cutter:


If I take real good measurements with a caliper, I should be able to cut out each individual pieces to pop right in, but my question is, How would I tint it? or should I I say, stain it ?
I've even contemplated going to a tint shop and seeing if I could score some scrap blue window tint? (Abrams)

[Sureshot]

Some types of clear plastic can be tinted with RIT fabric dyes. Not sure about acrylic however.
We used to tint our RC plane canopies that way.
Tamiya has some clear tinting colors also.
Magic marker might even work.
Steve

[canklebreaker]

I'm in the process of dealing with Cupola glass myself. I have some acrylic at work, as well as a decent Laser etcher/cutter:


If I take real good measurements with a caliper, I should be able to cut out each individual pieces to pop right in, but my question is, How would I tint it? or should I I say, stain it ?
I've even contemplated going to a tint shop and seeing if I could score some scrap blue window tint? (Abrams)

I've read people use adhesive metallic vinyl wrap or even those dollar store whistles with the colorful foil fringes to glue to the window pieces. If you manage to cut these pieces, I'd love to purchase a set if you can make extras.